Memorial Day Special 'Never-ending Return' It has already been 61 years since the fratricidal tragedy of the Korean War broke out. However, 130,000 patriotic martyrs still sleep alone in nameless mountains and fields. They were someone's son, brother, and father, but they sacrificed their lives like straw for their country. The Ministry of National Defense Remains Excavation and Identification Team climbs the mountain today to return these patriotic heroes to their families. ■ Reunion after 61 years Kim Il-hwan, who is 85 years old this year, recently received a phone call from the Ministry of National Defense. The remains of his younger brother, who had gone missing during the Korean War, were found in Baekseok Mountain in Gangwon Province after 61 years. His younger brother Kim Jong-hwan was forcibly conscripted at the age of 17 in September 1950, during the height of the Battle of Nakdong River. The clue to confirming his identity was the identification tag found with the remains. Kim Il-hwan, the older brother of his brother who finally got to hold his brother’s remains for the first time in 61 years, shed tears of regret, saying, “I wish he had lived, but I am so grateful to at least see his remains.” ■ Into the arms of the country The war that began without warning on June 25, 1950, resulted in countless sacrifices. The number of Korean soldiers who died or went missing during the war was approximately 160,000, and of these, the remains of 130,000 soldiers were not recovered and were left behind in the mountains and rivers of their homeland. Accordingly, in 2000, the government launched an excavation project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. The excavation project was later converted into a permanent national project, and in 2007, the Ministry of National Defense Remains Excavation and Identification Unit, a specialized unit for the excavation of remains, was established. Over the past 10 years, the remains of 4,500 soldiers have been excavated nationwide. However, only 64 of them have been identified and returned to their families. Even now, approximately 4,000 remains are waiting to be returned to their families at the National Cemetery Remains Repository. ■ Changnyeong, Gyeongnam, a group of remains testifying to a fierce battle A considerable amount of remains were discovered at the roots of a thick old tree in Boncho-ri, Changnyeong, Gyeongnam. A total of 15 remains were excavated here, and they are group remains that tell of a fierce battle. In the early stages of the war, the friendly defense line was narrowed down to the Nakdong River due to the advancing North Korean army's offensive. In response, General Walker, the commander of the 8th US Army, established a defense line connecting the Nakdong River and the mountainous region in the northeast. The Nakdong River defense line battles that continued in Andong, Mungyeong, Changnyeong, and Chilgok for two months eventually laid the foundation for the Incheon Landing Operation on September 15. However, the remains of hundreds of thousands of people who perished in the process were not recovered and remained as a handful of dirt in the mountains and rivers of our homeland. ■ The first clue to identification, remains Relatively intact remains were found in the Haksan area of ​​Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province. The name engraved on the fountain pen next to the remains was 'Choi Dae-hyeon'. The forensic results showed that the owner of the fountain pen was a young soldier in his twenties. Currently, there are a total of eight soldiers named Choi Dae-hyeon on the military register, and only one of them died in the Battle of Changnyeong... Will the soldier 'Choi Dae-hyeon' found with the fountain pen be able to return to his family? ■ The last hope of the bereaved family, DNA collection If no special remains are found, the identity of the excavated remains can only be confirmed by comparing DNA samples from the bereaved family members. Starting with the late Private Kang Tae-soo in 2007, the remains of a total of 10 people have been identified through DNA testing to date. DNA testing is the only clue to confirm the identity of nameless remains. The number of DNA samples needed to return the remains of 130,000 soldiers to their families is 260,000, but only 14,000 DNA samples have been secured so far from the bereaved families. This is why collecting DNA samples from the bereaved families, the last hope for identifying the remains, is so urgent. ■ Until the day we can bury the last person... The excavation of remains is a race against time. As 60 years have passed since the end of the war, not only the first generation of war veterans who would report battle sites and remains burial sites, but also the bereaved families who were desperately waiting for the remains are gradually passing away. From collecting DNA samples from the bereaved families to return the remains already excavat